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Lord of the Rings Online: Rise of Isengard & F2P Goodness
SBFord
Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129
With the recent release of the Lord of the Rings expansion, Rise of Isengard, interest has once again been sparked by Turbine's venerable game. In our latest look at LOTRO, MMORPG.com's Lori May checks out the game, its F2P revenue model and more. Read on!
In the wake of Lord of the Rings Online’s latest expansion, Rise of Isengard, we decided it was high time to take another look at this popular free-to-play (F2P)/subscription hybrid MMO. While many folks seemed hesitant to give this one a try prior to the F2P conversion, the ability to enjoy 65 levels without ever paying a subscription cost means there’s little reason not to sample the familiar and rather beautiful world from the Lord of the Rings book series (and eventual movie franchise). And no, this one isn’t just for folks obsessed with the novels.
Read more Lori May's Lord of the Rings Online: Rise of Isengard & F2P Goodness.
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Comments
nice read..not..i love lotro but very disappointed so far with isengard..its now gone from one of the best mmo's to a solo rpg...the addition of the f2p is ok..i dont mind that..atm i feel like frodo..lotro is a lonely road atm..hope it improves real soon.i will stick with it though being a lifer.
Unfortunately it's gone beyond trying to convert to single player mode. They have totally dumbed down their crafting/harvesting system the same way SWG tried to do with the NGE because they were worried about WoW. Except this time I think Lotro is worried about SWTOR. Game devs need to stop worrying to the point of paranoia and just stay true to their fanbase.
I had played Lotro ever since alpha testing and was in the beta for RoI as well. Sad to say, I cancelled my subscription and won't be going back unless Turbine changed back some of their bad choices. I am sure it won't happen anytime soon if at all, but I know I am not alone on this view because others have agreed with me on their official forums.
But like many devs these days, they choose not to listen to the people making their paychecks possible.
Failing with an IP as vast and loved as lord of the rings tells me turbine are not a great developement studio, the original lord of the rings game middle earth online was a far superior idea.
THIS.
+1
Additionally I don't really like F2P mode, cause it clearly changes devs focus to make game connects to store in as many places as possible, to increase store sales as far as changing game mechanics to boost store sales (it was done in Lotro).
It 'feels' like it is more about the store than game itself.
Not sure what to think about someone saying an idea that never saw the light of day is superior to the gameplay that made it in, maybe you are right but I heard the same types of comments about the original pre CU/NGE SWG and that game couldn't sustain a population large enough to satisfy it's developers either.
Not sure I'd be so quick to just dismiss Turbine as a developer either since the fact remains that ip's don't make the product there are far too many games with sure shot ip's that also failed or underserved that ip's percieved market from AOC to STO and MXO.
But it was only an "idea", and never came to fruition. There may have been a reason for that. Many times lofty ideas never see the light of day because there isn't an easy way to implement those ideas. Just look at Darkfall. A lot of lofty ideas, but the game that was released was no where near the original idea for the game.
I became bored quicker than I thought with the new expansion and have since cancelled my sub. I was hoping for something "more" (though I don't know what that "more" is).
Not sure where you get the "failing with an IP thing" . Lotro is thriving and all the servers I play on are always very busy. As Turbine said, Isengard has been their most successful expansion ever. Turbine has done quite well with the Lord of the Rings IP.
Nice review!
It really is a matter of taste. I love LotRO, but the main issue before was the limited population (causing Turbine to shift away from the heavy group focus and towards solo player viability). With F2P, more people should be playing, so I'll likely check it out again very soon.
Very good game, even more now with f2p. The PvP is almost pathetic. No ballance, at all. Only one boring zone. Bit its PvE aspects are great. Good story and interesting places, not only for Tolkien fans, but for MMO its well made.
People always have a reason to complain it seems. Before MMOs became popular it was forum ranting over single player game minutae. I suppose that still goes on...
LOTRO is not a perfect game, it is a good game if you can get into the mindset that it is what it is. And it is a solo heavy ,socially heavy adventure with a decent representation of what Middle Earth is. If it aint for you , move on.
If there are features not present, look elsewhere. The game was never meant to be PVP- but devs accomodated by adding PVMP. that part is not the game focus. f2per who have entitlement issues need be reminded that one can go all the way to 65 without spending a dime. It has been done. Why moan over the grind needed to achieve that if its free?
Well far as I am concerned it is a pretty neat game for being fairly free. Middle Earth Online was a disaster waiting to happen, I was so glad Turbine picked up the IP from those incompetents. I don't understand the problem some of you have with the crafting systems, they seem to work fine for me.
I think Tolkien is spinning in his grave, I'm sure if he was alive this game wouldn't exist
, but as MMO its good game, even very good.
i usually don't complain about lotro because up until this expansion it has been a fun experience. I was highly disappointed in this expansion. It's like developers like this have all completely forgotten that to keep a game fresh you have to have to improve upon the ui. There is no AOE looting, there are no random events, no combat mounts, guild perks, rewarding exploration, fishing with something other then fish as the reward.
UI elements like these could have completely changed the game for many a player it's disappointing that the devs only care about canon and releasing a tiny zone as an expansion. Sure they have new dungeons and skirms but cmon now people, that's not the only aspect of an mmo that people like to do. There's even an outcry from WoW players about this.
I cannot wait for GW2 i hope their numbers are so huge that it completely changes the industry.
**Pando Media Booster will, once the download completes, and unless otherwise directed by the user, continue to "seed" the files out which can use bandwidth. If you'd like to disable Pando (to prevent this) rather than remove it entirely this can be done from its Control panel option.
This point IS NOT MADE CLEAR SO FREE DOESN'T MEAN $#!^ when it comes to your ISP.
Don't forget to uninstall. PMB.exe
I agree. But if Tolkein were still alive, the movies wouldn't exist, either. He was very much opposed to people messing with his work whether it did his work justice, or not.
Turbine did a good job with the lore, IMO, as well as putting it to good use in their own stories. I didn't realize how much of the stuff ingame was based on the Appendix in RotK til' I reread it a few weeks back.
Aesthetics: 9/10
I clearly must not have played the same game as you? Because the LotRo I bought looks awful, the characters are wooden, the horses are even worse, the background scenery is the only thing that looks any way half good. Yes, it has a ok story & nice, helpful people playing it, but thats about it. Most of it was empty, dead & very boring. Sorry.
I like Lotro a lot. Been playing it for the last year and am having more fun with this game than with most others I've played. That said, the new expansion is very disappointing. No new dunegons, no new game modes, nothing really groundbreaking. They updated existing systems and made them work a little better. The quests are smoother. The number issues are better. The gear grind is more friendly. But there's nothing new or amazing, and at level cap there's nothing to do besides run old instances at the higher level, and the one new raid. The new raid is really cool, but it's a huge investment. A good kill takes around an hour, and a practice attempt can run even longer, and you may not even get to the parts you need to practice.
Important facts:
1. Free to Play games are poorly made.
2. Casuals are not all idiots, but idiots call themselves casuals.
3. Great solo and group content are not mutually exclusive, but they suffer when one is shoved into the mold of the other. The same is true of PvP and PvE.
4. Community is more important than you think.
When LOTRO launched and right up to Moria, I felt that the developers were truly dedicated to producing a game based faithfully on the spirit of Tolkien's works. The art of storytelling and world design came first. Since then, every expansion introduces more blatant commercialism and more ways to completely skip the art, storytelling and world.
Its become a bunch of menus and a town hub, thanks to Instance Join.
If you've never played LOTRO and like the IP, then it's absolutely worth trying.
I'm totally disenchanted with the game have already abandoned it for the foreseeable future after reaching the level cap in ROI. They barely release content and the expansions are getting smaller and smaller.
Wooden characters Oo
Clearly you need to buy new pc man better then the wooden pc you got at that time ....
Lotro went from being my favorite mmo to making me want to barf out of boredom. i log in about once a month, sigh heavily, and then log out again.
I was so looking forward to Rise of Isengard, but since the expac released I never came further than level68-69, before I became totally bored out of my skull!
The whole Expansion is an On Rails SOLO experience, forcing you to follow the Main Epic Questline to unlock one questhub after the other.
No more freedom to go and quest where you want. NOPE! Somehow Turbine found it necessary to totally dumb down the game into a boring On Rails SOLO experience with this new expac.
The new crafting Tier is also a total joke, with lack of recipes!
I remember people complaining about the Size of the previous Mirkwood expansion and that it wasn't really an expansion in their eyes.
But sad truth is, that the Siege of Mirkwood expansion offered tons more content, more fun, fellowship quests, instances, new skirmish system with tons of skirmishes!
Rise of Isengard is nothing more than a questpack and then they had the nerves to charge FULL expansion price for it!
A total Rip Off for the loyal VIP subscribers! As at this moment VIP has become a total joke! You actually get more worth for your money staying Premium! /facepalm
I am totally done with LOTRO. One of my favorite games has become one of my most hated one overnight!
I have totally lost any respect I had for Turbine! As this expansion was nothing more than a sick money grab!
PS. And don't even talk about the poor Monsterplayers who have been totally screwed over once again!